Can I vent while we sit around the campfire ?

[NanciL]

I have built two houses from the ground up and repaired just about every home appliance that exists, but lost on this last repair on our electric cloths dryer.
It had a rubbing/schritcing sound, so I Opened it up to try and trouble shoot it. It has two drum roller wheels in the rear and the cheapest drum roller glides in the front that I have ever seen. They consist of a strip of thin Teflon with a piece felt under it and for some reason which only the designer of the machine knows the left side is slightly different then the right side.
Right away it was obvious that the right side was my problem since the felt had slipped out from under the Teflon and the drum was rubbing on the support. I figured that as long as I had to replace those parts, I might as well get a new belt and rear rollers along with the left side glides.
I called the supply house and gave the make and model number of the machine and they called me back with the price of each item which came to a total of ninty eight dollars.. The two front Teflon roller glides are nothing more than a flat strip a half inch wide and about six inches long that I bend to fit when I install them and the felt is nothing more than a flat half inch strip about three inches long by an 1/8 inch thick with a peel of sticky back. The price of each one of the Teflon strips was fourteen dollars and the price of each piece of felt was $4.50 which I questioned. The counter man called the supplier and double checked and said that it was the proper price.
Needless to say I had to have them so I bit the bullit and said Ok. He called me the next morning and said the parts were in.
When I picked them up and checked to make sure I had everything I noticed the felt pads were only about an inch long and pointed that out to him. He doubled checked and said that they were the proper ones, ($4.50 for a sticky back piece of felt 1" x 1/2" x 1/8)
I got everything home and when I was installing them I found that one of the Teflon strips was shorter then the originals plus both had little notches in each side that didn't match the originals. I was able to modify them and make them fit anyway.
Then after much anguish of getting the new belt on over it's tension wheel and motor wheel and getting the whole thing back together. I end up with the same rubbing/scratching noise.
Back to the "drawing board" ! I figure the only thing left is the motor and fan wheel which is attached to the motor.
I took off the fan wheel and that seemed sloppy on its shaft so figured that might be what it was, but before running out and paying an arm and a leg for a new one I would try the motor with all the other parts and pieces not connected.
Turned it on and sure enough I still have the noise!
Looked on line and it said that if the motor has a screetching noise it is bad and cannot be fixed and a new motor at $150 is requied.
Today we are heading out to buy a new dryer at it's cost plus the cost of my $98 parts !!!

Jack L

[NanciL]

NCWriter wrote:
Jack, didn't you and Nanci raise about four dozen kids? That poor dryer was probably screeching to be put out of its misery.

Back in those days I think we went through at least three heating elements ( on a different machine )

Jack

[wa8yxm]

One suggestions if fan is loose can it be tightened (Set screw)

Second suggestion: Felt pads

Weather stripping (one type) is stick backed felt strips many feet long, cut to size.

[NCWriter]

Jack, didn't you and Nanci raise about four dozen kids? That poor dryer was probably screeching to be put out of its misery.

[Jim_Shoe]

I've had the same Kenmore washer and dryer in my laundry room for nearly 30 years, which is really more than I could have expected. So when the dryer was still turning but quit drying, I figured it was time to buy a new set. When I pulled the dryer out from the wall, I found that when the installers had attached the exhaust hose to the outside vent about 6 inches away, they used a six foot long hose. The hose was just clogged with 30 years of lint. That turned into a 30 minute repair job. If it lasts another 30 years, it will have outlived me.

[ventrman]

I had one that had a sealed Motor that could not be lubricated. It froze up. I took an Electric Drill and Drilled a Hole and lubricated it that way. It worked fine.

[atreis]

Very different experience here ... We built our home 7 years ago, and have all Kenmore appliances (most were actually made by Whirlpool). The only one that ended up being replaced was the dehumidifier. All of the others are still here, and none have needed repair. We have 3 kids, so do quite a lot of laundry and dish washing.

[NJRVer]

I had a similar problem.
Brand new dryer making a scraping noise as it turned.
I called GE and had the dryer running and making the noise as I talked to the lady.
I ended up getting a new dryer and they didn't care what I did with the old one. They didn't want it back.
I stuck it in the storage area and it sat for a year.
When I was cleaning things out I pulled out the dryer and low and behold the way the sun was shining bright on it, I could see an ever so slight bend on the corner of the cabinet.

I took a block of wood and pounded down on the barely noticeable bend.
Plugged the dryer in and Presto! no noise.
Two dryers for the price of one.

[Old-Biscuit]

As long as washer /dryer are still working I don't care what noise they make. That's why I just close the laundry door.

[Go_Dogs]

My 2 cents on stoves, washers, and dryers. The older models were made to be repaired. The new stuff, with all the bells and whistles are disposable.
Buy older appliances on Craig's list, garage sales, or get them off the curb, (before the metal scrappers grab them). Look on ehow, or YouTube. You will get superb instructions for trouble-shooting and repairing the most common problems. It's even cost-effective to Frankenstein the parts from an extra non-functional appliance.
A lot of the older televisions are an easy fix, too.

[2012Coleman]

Here is what I have learned about appliances: Don't buy them from big box hardware stores. Why? Because manufacturers make cheaper versions of their appliance models for them to sell. They are made with cheaper parts and break down more often - ask my in-laws. Don't believe me? Compare model numbers of the same appliance from an appliance store like HH Gregg and Lowes. In my recent experience both had the same french door bottom freezer model, but the model number was different. Go to the manufacturers website and you will see that they have the same model listed as the appliance store. Then check the model numbers at the box store - different. You can see them in the circulars from the newspaper as well.

The same goes for faucets. The Hardware store versions have plastic parts inside. Not trying to diss these palces. I just bought a kitchen full of appliances - in every case the model number on the manufacturers site was different than the same appliance found at the big blue hardware box store. Most true appliance stores will meet or beat prices from circulars. Some places check the internet while your standing there.

I replaced my water heater last year too - called different plumbers. Only used the lowest priced outfit that didn't get supplies from big box stores. I expect it to last a long time.

You get what you pay for folks.

[Opie431]

Our water heater was 24 years old before we had to replace it. The last one was seven years old and friends are amazed that it lasted that long. I hope the new one lasts for at least five years.
And we buy only good brands.

At least our trucks last longer than they used to.

[coolbreeze01]

Check out Speed Queen. Simple and Made in the USA.

[fj12ryder]

If you're determined to fix it, get your parts online. I don't buy anything from a S&B parts dealer unless I need it right now. You can find nearly anything you need with a bit of searching and save a big chunk o'change.

[IBcarguy]

I once had a screeching motor in our heating and AC fan. There was no way to get at the bearing or armature so I drilled a very small hole in the motor housing where the bearing was located an put couple of drops of oil in it, taped over the hole and no more noise. That was over 5 years ago.

[georgelesley]

Last year our 7 year old refrig died. We bought a new one of a different brand and the delivery guy assured me that the old brand was junk (something I already knew), but the new one was among the best available and I would get "10 good years" out of it. I gulped since I had just spent over $1600 on the thing. The way he said it I was supposed to be happy about that, but after just spending $1600 I was not happy that after "10 good years" I would see him again.